DENVER — There's never a bad time to win.
The Broncos did so convincingly on Sunday, as they closed the preseason with a 38-12 win over the Cardinals to wrap up an undefeated preseason.
"I said to [the team] afterwards, 'Don't ever get tired of how it feels to win,'" Head Coach Sean Payton said. "Granted, we're substituting groups and we're needing to get groups evaluated, and yet we still want to win. I felt the energy. … That part of it's encouraging."
Punctuated by a 94-yard pick-six by undrafted rookie Levelle Bailey, the Broncos never trailed in their win over the Cardinals.
"I liked the energy again," Payton said. "I thought even the guys that were not necessarily playing were into the game. That is encouraging. You can pick any number, and it is going to kind of give you the stat line. When you score on defense, you are going to have some success. I think we had two takeaways, and we protected the ball. So, overall, I was pleased with how we finished this preseason. We will get a lot of film look on some guys, and then we begin that process the next two days relative to the roster."
Quarterbacks Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson were among the players who impressed Payton with their performances.
"Both those guys looked good," Payton said.
Stidham got the start and played just one series, as he led Denver on a 10-play, 55-yard touchdown drive. The defining play came on fourth-and-2 from the Arizona 32-yard line, as Stidham found rookie Devaughn Vele in the middle of the field for a 14-yard completion that moved the chains. Running back Audric Estime, who totaled 32 scrimmage yards on the drive, plunged in from three yards out for the opening touchdown.
"I knew coming into it, if I went down and scored on the first drive I'd probably be done," Stidham said. "Really proud of the guys putting it in there after the [Cardinals'] missed field goal. It was great."
Wilson then came on in relief and led three touchdown drives over the remainder of the game. His first scoring drive was jump-started by a 21-yard scramble in which he dove forward for the first down after facing a second-and-20. Wilson added passes for 24 yards to David Sills, 19 yards to Nate Adkins and 14 yards to Sills before he found an open Adkins for a 1-yard touchdown.
In the third quarter, Wilson launched a deep pass to Brandon Johnson for a 37-yard gain that set up a 1-yard quarterback sneak.
Wilson's best pass, though, may have come late in the game. With just over six minutes to play, Wilson dropped a 46-yard rainbow in to Johnson right before the defender arrived to try to break up the pass. Johnson skated into the end zone for Wilson's second touchdown pass of the afternoon.
The Broncos' quarterback room for the regular season will take shape over the coming days, and Payton said Sunday he sees "the three of them making it" to the roster.
Stidham said while he has "no doubts" he's a "starting caliber quarterback," he'll aim to serve as a resource for starting quarterback Bo Nix.
"I'm going to do whatever I can to help Bo get prepared," Stidham said. "… I'm going to help him in whatever way I can and then also be ready to go if I need to be."
Wilson said the news of Nix being named the starter wasn't "too much" of a surprise, but he said he believes Nix has had a "great camp" in his first season in Denver.
"I told him I'm excited for him for this opportunity," Wilson said. "I really believe they're putting him in a good situation. I think Sean has done a phenomenal job and the guys that we get to hang out with starting with [Quarterbacks Coach] Davis [Webb] and [Offensive Coordinator] Joe [Lombardi] and [Senior Offensive Assistant] Pete [Carmichael] and 'Johnny Mo' [Pass Game Coordinator John Morton] — we have a great offensive staff. I think they do a great job. And then Bo has just continued to keep getting better. I'm excited to see what he can do, and I think he's ready for it."
As the Broncos build their 53-man roster and 16-player practice squad — quarterback room included — Payton recognizes the difficulty of the next couple of days.
"It is never easy — this process — and it is what it is," Payton said. "I have been in it myself a number of times, formally as a player. I can remember being really naive on one team, thinking they were going to start me. I went in, I got cut, and I could not believe it. You have the 53[-man roster] and the practice squad. There are paths for decisions, and part of it is managing the roster. So [General Manager] George [Paton] and I have met for the better part of the last couple weeks each week, relative to where we are at with certain decisions. I think we have a good handle on it in terms of that."
Asked to look back at the Broncos' preseason performance, Payton continued to emphasize that he's pleased by where the team currently stands.
"I would say I'm encouraged with not only the rookie class relative to the draft picks, but some of the new players that came in that were signed in free agency," Payton said. 'Overall, the makeup and chemistry of this team, I would say it's entirely different from a year ago. So that's not a surprise, but it's something you notice [and] you feel. And that's encouraging."
